Adriaan Strauss

Handré Pollard

Vodacom Bulls coach Frans Ludeke made 7 changes to his starting team to face the Melbourne Rebels in a Super Rugby clash in Melbourne on Saturday. There are 3 changes in the backline that faced the Brumbies last weekend and 4 in the pack.

Jesse Kriel, Travis Ismaiel and Jacques-Louis Potgieter all move into starting positions off the bench, replacing Jurgen Visser, Bjorn Basson and Handré Pollard respectively. Visser and Basson will play off the bench, but Pollard will be rested for this clash.

Instead, Tian Schoeman, who joined the touring party on Tuesday, will be the back-up flyhalf on the bench.

In the pack, injured Deon Stegmann is replaced by Lappies Labuschagne, with Grant Hattingh moving to the bench to make way for Victor Matfield. The veteran lock will play in his 148th match at this level. In a straight swop, Jacques du Plessis starts at No 7 and Arno Botha moves to the bench.

Adriaan Strauss was only not considered due to the resting agreement with SARU, resulting in Callie Visagie running onto the field for his 50th match for the Vodacom Bulls in the No 2 jersey. Jaco Visagie will be on the bench.

According to Ludeke this is do or die for the team.

“We have not achieved the results we have hoped for this far on tour and we have to win this one to stay in the competition. In fact, we see this as a knock-out match. We cannot afford defeat and will go into this match in play-off mode.”

He is confident that the changes in the side will not impact their performances, especially as Pollard and Basson have started in all the matches so far.

“We have an excellent replacement in Pottie (Potgieter) as he has vast experience and is a proven competitor at this level. Bjorn is playing great rugby, but needs a break and Travis has shown his potential this far off the bench. It is great to have Victor back as the lineouts will be a key area for us,” Ludeke said.

Vodacom Bulls: 15 Jesse Kriel, 14 Francois Hougaard, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Travis Ismaiel, 10 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9 Rudy Paige, 8 Pierre Spies (Captain), 7 Jacques du Plessis, 6 Lappies Labuschagne, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Marcel van der Merwe, 2 Callie Visagie, 1 Dean Greyling
Replacements: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Werner Kruger, 19 Grant Hattingh, 20 Arno Botha, 21 Tian Schoeman, 22 Bjorn Basson, 23 Jurgen Visser.

Date: Saturday 6 June
Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne
Kick-Off: 07:30 SA Time (15:30 AEST, 17:30 NZ Time, 05:30 GMT)
Referee: Nick Briant
Assistant Referees: James Leckie, Michael Hogan
TMO: Ian Smith

Blue Bulls to lose William Small-Smith:

The Vodacom Bulls stand to lose the services of another rising star in their ranks, as former SA Under 20 captain William Small-Smith officially requested permission to negotiate with other provinces.

Small-Smith’s contract ends in October and the talented midfielder is looking for a new home after minimal game time at the Bulls.

Small-Smith was in the initial Bulls squad, but an injury early in the season allowed Burger Odendaal to pass him in the pecking order, with the Bulls disregarding the form he is in when selecting for their Vodacom Super Rugby tour overseas. It is understandable that he would be frustrated at his development being stunted by not playing at Super Rugby level.

There is a lot of interest in Small-Smith from outside Pretoria, with both the Cell C Sharks and Toyota Cheetahs set to make offers when the negotiation process opens.

Currently Small-Smith cannot negotiate with any other province until 1 July unless given permission by the Blue Bulls Company.

It is likely the Bulls will try and fight Small-Smith’s decision by using a clause in the contract that says they have the right to match any offer, but as in the case of Bongi Mbonambi – who was in a similar spot last season before accepting a contract at the DHL Stormers – it will be difficult to keep him in Pretoria if he doesn’t want to stay.

If he does leave it will be another young talent lost by the Bulls because of lack of game time. Some inexplicable selections, including in the overseas tour squad, have meant that Small-Smith has played most of his rugby in the Vodacom Cup this year.

While he scored 3 tries in the quarterfinal win over the Toyota Free State Cheetahs, Small-Smith was not included in the touring squad, nor called up when fellow midfielder Jan Serfontein was injured, with the Bulls opting for Jurgen Visser to head overseas.

Ironically the Bulls struggle with depth at 13, with JJ Engelbrecht the only player they’ve used in the position all season, and set to be heading overseas to Japan at the end of the year.

Engelbrecht is still in discussions to conclude a return to the Bulls for next season, but if that fails, there is little cover at 13 with experience for the Pretoria side.

Marqiet September played well in this year’s Vodacom Cup but has yet to play both Super Rugby and ABSA Currie Cup while Jesse Kriel is the other option at 13, but has been playing 15 all season long.

Small-Smith referred all questions to his lawyer Gerrie Swart, who “elected not to comment on the truthfulness of the request to negotiate with 3rd parties before the transfer window, the interest in William from 3rd parties and that it is a given that William is leaving the Province.”

The Bulls High Performance manager Xander Janse van Rensburg confirmed via message from Australia, where he is with the Bulls team, that the Bulls declined to comment on the matter.

(SuperSport)

Ludeke’s job under fire?

Despite the pressure mounting following their 3rd consecutive defeat on their Australasian tour and their subsequent slide to 9th place on the Super Rugby log, Bulls coach Frans Ludeke said he could not afford to worry about his future at the franchise.

The Bulls faced their final match of the 4-week tour against the Rebels in Melbourne on Saturday and would be desperate to avoid a whitewash.

“My mind doesn’t want to go there (possibly facing the axe), I am open minded about the whole thing but obviously I can’t make the decisions, so I don’t give it the energy because I have a job at hand,” an under fire Ludeke said on Wednesday.

“It is a must win for us and we owe it to ourselves and our campaign with what we’ve done at home also where we pulled it together.

“We were 2nd on the log when we came here, so we were in a very good situation and we played well.”

Ludeke said a few results on tour could easily have swung in their favour had his charges been more accurate and he was adamant they were the same side that went on tour as the South African Conference leaders.

In their tour matches against the Blues and the Brumbies, the Bulls lost by a 5 and 6 point margin respectively and could have won those matches had the bounce of the ball favoured them.

The Bulls have 2 relatively easy matches remaining in the regular competition against the Melbourne Rebels and the Toyota Cheetahs in Pretoria and can still clinch a playoff berth while also hoping for results elsewhere to aid them in their cause.

“I didn’t change from 4 weeks ago, I am the same person and the team is the same. We didn’t get the result and I will take the responsibility for that,” he said.

A defeat against the Rebels would certainly be the death knell to their campaign and even if they win both their last 2 matches but fail to reach the playoffs, Ludeke’s position could be in jeopardy.

Ludeke, whose contract with the Bulls expires in October 2016, said his fate lay in the hands of the Blue Bulls board that would be meeting next Friday.

“I’ve got respect for the people that appointed me and if they want to change there is nothing I can do about it,” Ludeke said.

“My job is to ensure we finish well, we are obviously in a situation that we don’t enjoy, we would like to be in the run and make the playoffs.

“That is why we will fight ‘till the last game to make sure because there is still hope, we need favours, but there is still hope.”

Ludeke said he had positive discussions with the board and his future and what was needed to make improvements at the union.

“We’ve got the board meeting on Friday in a week and then we will know, so I don’t want to preempt what will happen at the meeting,” he said.

(Sport24)